Dennis Rasmussen (born July 3, 1990 in Vasteras, Sweden) is a Swedish professional ice hockey centre who is currently playing for the Växjö Lakers of the Swedish Hockey League (SHL).
He played in the NHL for the Chicago Blackhawks for two seasons (in 2015-16 and 2016-17).
Playing Career[]
Rasmussen skated for the Vasteras U18 team in central Sweden and played for Vastmanland in the TV-Pucken tournament for high school age players where he scored 6 goals with 10 assists and 14 penalty minutes in 14 regular season games & scored 2 goal with 1 assist and 2 penalty minutes in five playoff games with Vasteras.
In eight TV-Pucken games, he scored 1 goal with 5 assists and 16 penalty minutes.
Rasmussen skated for the Vasteras U20 team as a 17-year-old. He scored 8 goals with 11 assists and 38 penalty minutes in 39 regular season games and scored 1 goal with 2 assists and 8 penalty minutes in three playoff games.
Rasmussen made his pro hockey debut, playing 15 regular season Allsvenskan games and five games in the Kvalserien for the Vasteras men’s team and tied Eddie Davidsson with 44 points in the regular season to finish second on the Vasteras U20 team in scoring. He scored 2 goals with 1 assist and was +2 with 4 penalty minutes as Vasteras finished third in Allsvenskan.
He scored 3 goals with 1 assist during the Kvalserien. Vasteras failed to earn elevation to Elitserien; finishing last in the six team tournament.
Rasmussen scored 19 goals with 25 assists (three points behind Jonas Puntusson for the team lead) and had 18 penalty minutes in 40 regular season games for the Vasteras U20 team. He scored 1 goal with 3 assists in four playoff games.
He played eight games for the Sweden U19 team and scored 3 goals with 2 assists and 10 penalty minutes. He was ranked 188th amongst international skaters in the CSS final rankings, but wasn't selected in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft.
Rasmussen played in 44 of 52 regular season games for Vasteras in his first full season in Allsvenskan and was part of the Sweden U20 team that won a bronze medal at the 2010 World Junior Championship.
He scored 4 goals with 13 assists and was -10 with 20 penalty minutes for Vasteras. The club finished tied for eighth with Boras HC and missed the playoffs. He played eight games for the Vasteras U20 team, including five playoff games and scored 2 goals with 7 assists and 31 penalty minutes.
In six games at the WJC, Rasmussen scored 2 goals with 1 assist and was +3 with 2 penalty minutes. He was ranked 109th amongst international skaters in the CSS final rankings, but he was not selected for the NHL Draft.
Rasmussen was an assistant captain for Vasteras and was third on the team in total points and scored 10 goals with 23 assists and was +10 with 16 penalty minutes in 48 regular season games.
Vasteras finished fifth in Allsvenskan and was second in the four-team preliminary playoffs, missing out on an opportunity to play in the Kvalserien. He scored 3 goals with 2 assists and was +2 in six preliminary series games.
Rasmussen played for Vaxjo Lakers in his first season in the Sweden Elitserien and skated in four international games for the Sweden men’s team. He skated in all 55 games for the Vaxjo, averaging 16:38 minutes of ice time and scored 8 goals with 9 assists; finishing minus-7 with 10 penalty minutes.
The Lakers finished ninth (two points behind MODO for the final playoff spot. Rasmussen scored 1 goal with 2 assists and was +1 in four games with Team Sweden.
Rasmussen was the second-leading scorer for Vaxjo behind one-time Atlanta Thrashers right wing Tomi Kallio and played for Sweden in six games during the Euro Hockey Trophy tournament. He led the Lakers with 16 goals and was minus-1 with 12 assists and 28 penalty minutes in 42 regular season games.
Vaxjo finished 10th, missing the playoffs. Rasmussen had no points nor penalties and was minus-3 in six games for Sweden in tournament play. After two successful seasons establishing a position within the team, he was re-signed to a two-year extension on January 30, 2013. He also helped Sweden win a bronze medal in the 2014 World Championships.
Rasmussen was an assistant captain for Vaxjo in his third season and finished tied for 10th in scoring in the re-christened SHL. In 52 games, he scored 16 goals with 24 assists (tying Viktor Arvidsson of Skelleftea with 40 points) and was +6 with 20 points. The Lakers finished third in the regular season and defeated Lulea in the quarterfinals before falling to Farjestads in the semifinals.
Rasmussen averaged 18 minutes of ice time per game in the playoffs, scoring 2 goals with 4 assists in 12 games, and was an even plus/minus with 6 penalty minutes. He also played for the bronze medal-winning Sweden men’s team at the 2014 IIHF World Championship and had 1 assist in nine games.
On June 10, 2014, Rasmussen agreed to a one-year entry level contract with the Chicago Blackhawks of the NHL on June 10, 2014.
During the 2014-15 season, he posted 27 points in 73 regular season games while playing with the Rockford IceHogs and appeared in seven Calder Cup games with them. On July 9, 2015, he was re-signed by the Blackhawks to a one-year contract.
During the 2015-16 season, Rasmussen split his season between the Blackhawks and Rockford. While in Rockford, he had a six-game point streak ranging from November 25 to December 6, 2015.
He scored a goal in his NHL debut on December 8, 2015 in a game against the Nashville Predators, becoming the eighth Blackhawks player to score a goal in his first NHL game since the 2005-06 season.
On December 13, 2015, Rasmussen scored a goal and got an assist in a game against the Vancouver Canucks, making his first multi-point NHL game of his career. He scored his first career game winning goal in a game against the Washington Capitals on February 28, 2016.
On July 17, 2017, he signed a one-year, one-way contract with the Anaheim Ducks where he had 4 points in 27 games before being placed & clearing waivers, and was re-assigned to the Ducks' AHL affiliate, the San Diego Gulls on December 29, 2017.
After his contract with the Anaheim Ducks was terminated, Rasmussen signed a contract with his former team, the Växjö Lakers of the Swedish Hockey League on February 13, 2018.
Career Statistics[]
Regular season and playoffs[]
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 2007–08 | VIK Västerås HK | J20 | 39 | 8 | 11 | 19 | 38 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 8 | ||
| 2008–09 | VIK Västerås HK | J20 | 40 | 19 | 25 | 44 | 18 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 0 | ||
| 2008–09 | VIK Västerås HK | Allsv | 15 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 0 | ||
| 2009–10 | VIK Västerås HK | J20 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 29 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 2 | ||
| 2009–10 | VIK Västerås HK | Allsv | 44 | 4 | 13 | 17 | 20 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2010–11 | VIK Västerås HK | Allsv | 48 | 10 | 23 | 33 | 16 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 0 | ||
| 2011–12 | Växjö Lakers | SEL | 55 | 8 | 9 | 17 | 10 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2012–13 | Växjö Lakers | SEL | 42 | 16 | 12 | 28 | 28 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2013–14 | Växjö Lakers | SHL | 52 | 16 | 24 | 40 | 20 | 12 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 6 | ||
| 2014–15 | Rockford IceHogs | AHL | 73 | 13 | 14 | 27 | 30 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2015–16 | Rockford IceHogs | AHL | 25 | 7 | 9 | 16 | 18 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | ||
| 2015–16 | Chicago Blackhawks | NHL | 44 | 4 | 5 | 9 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2016–17 | Chicago Blackhawks | NHL | 68 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 12 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 2017–18 | Anaheim Ducks | NHL | 27 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 8 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2017–18 | San Diego Gulls | AHL | 17 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| SHL totals | 149 | 40 | 45 | 85 | 58 | 12 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 6 | ||||
| NHL totals | 139 | 9 | 12 | 21 | 24 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||||
International[]
| Year | Team | Event | Result | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Sweden | WJC | Template:Brca | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 2 | |
| 2014 | Sweden | WC | Template:Brca | 9 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | |
| Junior totals | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 2 | ||||
| Senior totals | 9 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||||
Accolades[]
| Awards | Year |
|---|---|
| U16 SM Silver Medal | 2005-06 |
| U20 WJC Bronze Medal | 2009-10 |
| World Championship Bronze Medal | 2013-14 |
Personal Life[]
Rasmussen's younger brother, Emil currently plays hockey for Surahammars IF.